The Future of a Nation

I’m new-ish to Twitter (have had the account for a decade, but only started using it recently).

Today I tweeted at Canadian rich guy, Kevin O’Leary in response to his announcement that he’ll be running as the leader of the Conservative party, based on his experience playing a successful business man on television.

My sincere question to him via Twitter was this:

“In running for a position of public service, what experience do you personally have in serving the public… and how might you convince me you have the public’s best interest in mind. The impoverished and the middle class.”

Of course, this was drastically shortened from the tweets I wanted to send, but I declined creating a seventeen-part, Drumpf-esque rant.

So, I will continue my questions to him here, full-well knowing he will never read them, but rather I’ll write for my own catharsis and to appease my light sprinkling of OCD, which I have found, when executed wisely, can be quite useful to me.

O’Leary’s opening statement on his “Why I’m Running” page of olearyforcanada.ca begins with “Canada cannot afford another 4 years of Justin Trudeau”.

There are plenty of things I don’t like about the current Liberal government (I didn’t vote for them, but I also didn’t vote Conservative). But I’ll tell you what else Canada cannot afford in this political climate — its own greedy billionaire leader.

So, Kevin, you have some things you need to prove to the public before going any further.

You continue on in your statement to say that Canadians need “a Prime Minister who will fight for them”. This is a true statement. We absolutely do. So what you need to do is show us some evidence that you are capable of this — any proof at all that you would fight for us.

I’ll tell you why I and many Canadians are wary:
It’s because of the sum of what most Canadians know of you. We know you as someone who’s famous for being a rich guy on a reality show — a show that, much like the “Got Talent” franchise, makes its money off the backs of talented people who are desperate to make any money at all. And on this show, you seem to really enjoy playing the character of the greedy villain who doesn’t care how anyone feels. I sincerely hope it’s just a character, but I have my doubts.

I’ve watched enough of the show to hear you say you only care about money and that you go to bed thinking about money and wake up thinking about money. I’ve listened to you tell us from your news room chair that global poverty is “fantastic news” because you believe it motivates the poor to become richer… As if poverty is a character flaw. Do you really understand so little about life outside your own experience?

You say in your statement that you “have spent a lifetime fighting on behalf of investors”. This seems to be the only qualification you claim in terms of what you’ve done for people.

So, why, when you have no personal financial stake in my well being, would you give a flying rip about fighting for me or anyone like me?

From the evidence in front of us, how would we know you actually care about the Canadian people and not just about your own investments?
Running a country is not simply a business investment. People’s lives are at stake every day. Do you really want to take on the responsibility of caring for them? Because that’s the job you’re applying for.

I had sincerely hoped to click on your political website and find out something new that would enlighten me to why you think you’re qualified for a leadership position in public service. I hoped I would see a resume of charitable foundations that are close to your heart, or volunteer work that you’ve done — anything selfless at all.

But the closest I could scrounge was “I have spent a lifetime fighting on behalf of investors”.

That means nothing to me, personally, seeing as I have no investments with you. Most Canadians don’t. So who do you really care about? Who are you going to listen to? Who will have your ear when big issues arise? People like me… or your investors?

If you want this job, you need to understand that we’ve all heard you brag about being greedy. I’m not going to trust that you care about me now, simply because you say so. The only thing you’ve publicly demonstrated to date is that you’re only interested in serving yourself. Whether you’ve been acting as a character for TV or not, you’ll have to show us something new if you want be considered for this position.

Talk is cheap. Do something. Show us you have a conviction that doesn’t involve you getting richer or more famous.

Here’s some advice from a hard working Canadian: If you want be a boss, do what the rest of us have to do when starting a new career.

Start small. Maybe volunteer, the way interns have to. Then try a representing a riding or maybe become the mayor of something. See how that goes. Perhaps eventually you can try leading a province. I bet you’ll learn a lot! There are plenty of options out there that’ll get you the experience you need.

When you can show me a good resume, I may consider you qualified for the position.